


Second Chances

by Nixie_DeAngel



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Airports, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Established Background Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, F/M, Fluff, Hopeful Ending, Stranded Due to Weather Conditions, Surprising Second Chances, airport meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 17:42:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19977994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nixie_DeAngel/pseuds/Nixie_DeAngel
Summary: The last person Bucky Barnes expected to see in Kennedy airport, stranded just like him due to the unexpected snow storm in February, was Natasha Romanov, the girl he'd been in love with from middle school to high school. The girl, if he was being truly honest with himself, he was still a little bit in love with.Somehow, he just knew this was Stevie's fault, he just knew it.





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a link to the [WONDERFUL ART](https://aroace-steve-rogers.tumblr.com/post/186550529160/woohoo-happy-buckynat-mini-bang-2019-i-was-paired) done by the awesome and talented [aroace-steve-rogers](https://aroace-steve-rogers.tumblr.com/)!!! I'm so happy we got paired together! I had such a blast!!

* * *

Oh hell, Bucky Barnes thinks as he stares up at the flashing of the word delayed behind what’s supposed to be his flight out of Brooklyn to California. A flight he needed to catch, so he could attend his best friend’s wedding, unless of course he wanted to invoke the infamous Steve Rogers sad puppy dog eyes --something no one on the planet wanted to do. Feeling his shoulders slump with defeat, his bag strap sliding down, Bucky takes a moment before hiking the strap back up again and turns, about to trudge over to where he’d been sitting, only to come up short when he saw them taken over by a parent, and what looked like their two children. 

Tightening the grip he had on his bag strap, he bites back the urge to let out a frustrated grumble, he turns and scans, eyes flicking this way and that, trying to look for another free seat to nab, so that he wouldn’t have to camp out on the floor until his flight was called. Luckily though, he spotted an open seat, next to a petite redhead. Letting out an audible sigh of relief, he tightens his grip on his bag strap, at least they were next to an outlet, he muses as he shuffles his way over. 

Carefully, and slowly, he drops down next to them, moving his bag to land on the floor between his legs, and slides it beneath his chair, and firmly pressing his foot onto the strap, before shifting to a more, semi comfortable position. Pulling out his phone out, he shoots off a quick text to Steve, letting him know about the delayed flight and promising to let him know when he’d be arriving now due.

Just as he’s about to slip his phone back into his jacket, hoping to save the battery so he doesn’t _have_ to speak to the person next to him about using the outlet that’s behind them, his phone starts vibrating in his palm. Glancing at the screen, he lets out a soft, slightly annoyed but over all fond, sigh as he accepts the call with a gruff, “Yeah?”

“What do you MEAN your flights been delayed? James Buchanan Barnes there is a schedule for a reason!” Tony’s voice comes out, tiny and static-y, and shrill. Though, Bucky muses, he sounds just as annoyed he’s been since the media caught wind of his engagement to Steve a few weeks back. They’d wanted so badly to just have something small and quaint in Brooklyn --the park, to where Steve had grown up to be precise-- but Maria Stark, along with Pepper Potts, had nixed that notion just as soon as the words had left Tony’s mouth --Bucky knows this for a fact, as he’d been over helping his best friend and his fiance carry boxes of Stevie’s stuff into the brownstone they’d purchased to be their home in New York, and had literally witnessed Mrs. Stark and Ms. Potts shut him down before the words had truly left his mouth. 

Chuckling softly at the memory, Bucky resists the urge to tuck his phone between his shoulder and ear in order to rub at his face, instead he shifts it into a more secure grip as he answers, “I’m respecting your schedule here, Tones. I really am, just like I pinky swore to do. Even if it’s ridiculous you and Cap made me pinky swear like we were five years old.”

“Please, I’ve witnessed you and Steven do that ridiculous swear for years, so don’t even try and play like it’s beneath you. But more to the _point_ , delayed flights are not respecting the schedule, Barnes. It’s actually the exact opposite of what we’re saying here,” Tony snarks back down the line to him. “There’s in fact no respect. None, nada, none to be found or had. You might find it surprisingly, but it’s the total opposite of respect. In fact what we have here is called DISRESPECT, Buck-o. So really-”

Resisting the urge to sigh, Bucky settles instead on just rolling his eyes as he cuts Tony off abruptly, “Stark, my delayed flight --something I can’t actually control, no matter how much you wish I could because mere mortals can’t actually control the weather with their minds-- isn’t going to set back the schedule. At all. If you recall, I purposely took a flight nearly five days before the wedding, because of this exact scenario, if you don’t remember?” 

But he doesn’t give Tony any time to rebut his arguments as he carries right on talking, “Besides, freak snow storms happen, pal, especially since it’s still technically winter up here. And also remember, I’m still stuck in Northeast weather, alright? In the middle of February I might add. This isn’t a bad omen or a sign from fate or whatever nonsense you’ve got running through that thick skull a’yours, okay?” Bucky waits for Tony to take breath and calm down some before he goes on but suddenly he finds his phone being grabbed by a small hand. 

Blinking once, twice in astonishment and stares at his empty hand before he snaps his head to the right, staring beseechingly at the redhead --who’s got his phone held in their hand-- and Bucky can’t help but blink again as he watches the person switch the call to speakerphone with easy.

“котёнок, you must calm down.” The voice is soft, just a touch raspy and low, but still reassuring as they speak. Bucky can’t help as a shiver goes down his spine, feeling like he’s stepped into a distant memory. 

Furrowing his brow, Bucky can’t help but feel like he should know that voice. Like it was from somewhere in his past, like it was important and he should just _know_ but he came up blank on placing it as he let out a small, agitated huff as his mind refused to place it. 

“Natasha!?” Tony’s voice goes high pitched and strangled, he sounds startled as he continues on, “What the hell are you doing with Barnes’s phone? Wait! Better question, why are you in New York? Last we talked, you were in Germany with that idiot bow boy of yours.”

Bucky blinks once, then again because, because that name sounded familiar, very familiar, like something he use to know and know well. Squinting, he shifts in his seat so he’s more firmly face the phone snatcher, and stares, trying in vain to place the person sitting next to him.

“We’re airport buddies,” Natasha replies dryly, lips quirking up into a faint but fond looking smile. “And Germany was two months ago, котёнок, you need to catch up.”

“Airport buddies,” Tony’s voice comes back dry after a moment. “How the hell do you become airport buddies with someone you don’t even know, huh, Romanov? Is that another one of your spooky superpowers you constantly try and tell me you _don’t_ have?”

And just like that, Bucky’s eyes go wide and round, his mouth dropping open in surprise, it hits him like a train.

 _Natasha Romanov_.

The Russian transfer student who’d come in half way during seventh grade.

The girl he’d fallen head over heels in love with just weeks after meeting her, when he’d watch her punch Jack Rollins, a high school freshman who liked to loiter outside the middle school to terrorize the younger kids, Stevie especially ‘cause he was smaller and weaker than the other kids. 

He remembers vividly the day he’d fallen head over heels with the pretty redhead. Rollins had been picking on Stevie something especially fierce, when Natasha had glided over, murmured something so low that no one had caught it, before she was suddenly, and easily, side stepping Rollins clumsy left hook before laying him out flat on his back with a right upper cut of her own.

The girl he’d loved all throughout middle and high school, the girl he’d mooned over but had never had the guts to even speak too.

Blinking back into the present, Bucky watches as Natasha and Tony finished up their phone call --God, how long had he been lost to his thoughts and memories?-- before she handed him back his phone, a smirk still playing at her lips, “Rogers is calming him down.”

“He’ll be doing that for the rest of their lives,” he found himself saying, smile curling at his lips, his face softening as he thought about his best friend and his future brother-in-law, “He’s been doing it since they pulled their heads outta their asses and fessed up to how they really felt.”

“I know.” Shifting around in her seat, so she could face him more openly, she drew one leg up so she could rest her chin on her knee. “I’m surprised you’re still out here, in Brooklyn, and not out there with them already.”

Blinking, he felt his brow furrowed in question.

“You and Rogers seemed like you couldn’t live without one another,” she answered the unasked question with a small shrug. “I assumed you’d be like that for the rest of your lives, attached at the hip, unable to be apart for too long,” she adds, giving a wink to let him know she was just teasing. 

Snorting, he found his body relaxing, “Maybe once upon a time, we would’a but no, not for a few years now actually. Stevie’s all ‘bout Tones these days, and as much as I love ‘em both, I can only take so much lovey-dovey eyes before they make me feel I’ve got a mouthful of cavities. Sides, they’ve got a lot of finalizing to finish up before I need to be out there for the rehearsal and ceremony.”

Letting out a tinkling of laughter, Nat inclined her head, “Yes, I know that feeling. It’s why Tony and I limit our own get together’s to when either Steve’s away or Tony’s traveling for SI business.”

Nodding, he moves to rub his palm against his thigh, “So, uh, how do you know Stark?”

“I worked security for his company a few years ago.” Bucky blinks and draws back slightly as he watches her face close off for a moment, “We got along as much as one does with Tony Stark ,” another small shrug, “And we stayed in touch. Well, we try and stay in touch as much as we can.”

“That,” Bucky tries to stark but finds himself quirking a brow in question at her instead, “That does and don’t make much since. I feel like there’s a more in depth story required to understand.”

Letting out a low, throaty chuckle, her face softening, lips relaxing into a small, playful smile as she sort of slumps back into her seat. “I’m afraid that story will cost you.”

“Oh?” he asks slowly, almost cautiously as he stares at her with wide, round eyes. 

“For starters, at least one cup of bad airport coffee,” she replies, her eyes glinting mischievously as she teases him. 

“Well, for starters then,” Bucky quips back as he shoves up from his seat, glancing down once to his carry on before flicking his gaze back to Nat, who gives him one firm nod and unfolds herself to drape her body along both seats, ensuring that no one would try and take his seat while he’s away.

Striding over to the coffee cart nearest the waiting area for their gate, Bucky only glances back once over his shoulder, heart thudding much in the way it did back in high school as he eyes the way she’s stretched out before he made himself look ahead to watch where he was going.

* * *

Once he gets back from the coffee cart, with their steaming cups of plain black coffee, Bucky and Nat make small, meaningless chatter for a while, before Nat pipes up once there’s a lull in their conversation, “I guess I owe you a part of that story about Stark now.” She flashes him a playful smile.

“I did come through on the coffee,” he remarks with a half smirk as he nods towards where she’s holding the half empty cup between both hands, and lifts his own cup and taking a sip of his own coffee.

“True, true,” she hums thoughtfully, and nods as she eyes the dark scruff along his jaw, the long hair tucked behind his ears, and takes another sip and nods once. “I’m not sure if you remember, I’d been accepted to the-”

“The New York ballet company,” he cuts in, before flushing as he hunches in on himself slightly.

“Right,” she nods, slightly surprised he seems to have remembered, “I danced with the company for a few years, before deciding to leave, to make a new change with my life.” Her shoulders slump as she speaks and rolls the cup carefully between her hands. 

“Didn’t enjoy it any more?” he asks, while shifting in his seat, grimacing slightly before rolling his left shoulder a few times, trying to work out the tight feeling that seems to creep up on constantly. Though, he supposes, it could be much worse if he hadn’t remembered to take his pills AND heat and ice his shoulder for the last two days.

Though she doesn’t ask him verbally if he’s alright, Natasha can’t help but shoot him a concerned look but he simply waved her off with a small shake of his head. She keeps eyeing him for another moment before answering him, “I’ve always loved dancing but doing it like that, with the rehearsals and shows, it was burning me out.” 

“Turning something you loved, into something you were starting to hate?”

“Yes, exactly,” she agrees, with an understanding look, and fiddles with the lid of her cup. “So I finished my contract and decided I needed something different, try something and be something new. A friend of mine, Clint, who does security work got me into it. It was...an interesting turn of events but I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life now. Besides, it’s lead me to things I wouldn’t trade for the world. And it’s what lead me to Tony.” Pausing, she readjusted herself, leaning back in her seat, trying to get more comfortable. “I was hired as a bodyguard during a rather…difficult time for him and SI.”

“The double dealing? Because of the former COO?” Bucky asks, soft and hesitant. He didn’t know the full story, but he’d heard enough from both Stark and Steve to get a good gist of what had lead to Tony taking over running SI.

“I’m not at liberty to say, actually. Part of my contract, part it involves breaking a secret to a friend.” She gives a small shrug. “But I worked for Tony for a few months and we became, not _close_ close but close enough to stay in touch with one another. And to visit a few times a year.”

“I feel like that’s a standard with him,” he jokes lightly, watching as the tension that’d crept into her eyes, like a dark shadow that haunted her, seemed to clear up. “Close but not _close_ close.” Shifting in his seat, he glances around, absently noting how some of the area had thinned out in the time they’d been talking. 

“He’s adorable, like that,” Nat grins. “But that’s pretty much my story, classified information edited out, of course, but dancing with the company and than working in the private sector,” she winks before finishing her drink in one swallow. “Done?” she asks as she climbs off the seat, gracefully, and nods to his coffee. 

“What, oh yeah, thanks,” Handing his empty cup off to her, settling back into his seat as he watches her toss their trash in the bin before retaking her seat.

“So how about you, what’s the Bucky Barnes story?” she asks as she folds herself back into the hard plastic seat, tucking one leg beneath her as she goes down. “What became of the man, the myth, the legend?” 

Chuckling --half strained and half awkward-- as he brings his hand up to rub at the side of his neck. “Not much to tell really. After graduation, joined the Army with Stevie, since affording college or a trade school really wasn’t feasible. We figured we could do our four years and pay for an education that way. Steady paycheck and medical made the choice pretty easy.” 

Glancing down at where his left arm used to be before he turned his dark gaze back to Natasha and gave a little shrug. “After I, uh, I lost my arm, came back home and just, just, um, learned how to deal with everything and how to learn live again, I guess. Nothing all that exciting really.” Moving his hand from his neck, sneaking his hand underneath his jacket and moves to gently massage at his shoulder. “So, uh, that’s the Bucky Barnes story.” 

“Of course it is,” Natasha cuts in, eyes with a hard glint, and her voice soft and low. “It’s your story, so of course it’s exciting.” 

“As exciting as an ex-ballerina who became a bodyguard for rich people?” Bucky asks with a snort, lips curling into a smirk as he gives her a pointed look. “I’m pretty sure the ex Army sniper turned pet shelter worker isn’t as exciting as you, Nat. But I do alright. I like, well, I like how my life went for the most part, I’m still living it after all.”

“Nonsense,” she shoots back, eyes softening as she continues on, “He’s exciting to me.” She gives him a long, considering look. “So pet shelter worker?”

“Uh, yeah. A friend, Sam, who works at the VA suggested a service dog, to help with, um, my emotional and mental state, and that lead to one thing that lead to volunteering at a no kill shelter, that eventually lead to working there full time.” Bucky can’t help but feel the small ball of tension he always seemed to carry shrink as he continued talking with Natasha.

“No dog of your own?” she asks, curiously. 

“Oh no, I mean yes, yes I, well I did get one. He’s not a service dog though, but he’s my buddy and helps me out. A lot.” Pulling his phone out, Bucky quickly taps in his password to pull up a picture of him. “He’s Staffordshire Terrier, name’s Winter,” he adds fondly and he passes his phone over. “A brat but, a lovable one.” He grins down at the grey pup, mouth open wide and tongue hanging out the side, he’d been wiggling around on his back, trying to tempt Bucky into more belly rubs.

“Adorable. He not coming out with you? And is this a cat I see?” she asks and swipes to the next picture, of Winter curled up on Bucky’s bed, sleeping, with Alpine curled up on his back, sleeping himself. 

“Ah, no, no, Winter doesn’t do well on planes, so he’s staying with one of Steve’s art students. He’s in good hands though, Miles’s a great kid and Winter’s pretty fond of him. Plus, with me going out early and staying an extra few days, so I can get out fitted for my prosthetic, didn’t seem fair to make ‘im suffer.” _God,_ he thought to himself as he watches her smile down at the picture of Winter and Al _, I never thought I’d see her again._ “And yeah, that’s Alpine. He’s a stray Winter and I sort of adopted this past Halloween.”

Natasha lets out a low hum, as she eyes Bucky for a long moment as they fall into a comfortable silence. Shifting in her seat, she goes to open her mouth when an announcement comes over the intercom, announcing the cancellation of all flights out of Kennedy Airport for the next few hours.

“Shit,” Bucky curses softly as he brings his hand down to rub at his jean clad thigh. “Damnit.” Struggling slightly with his jacket pocket, he yanks his phone out and shoots off a text to Steve, letting his best friend know about the flight cancellations due to the worsening storm.

“My sentiments exactly,” she adds, a touch of frustration bleeding out, before letting out a huff and pulling her own phone out, shooting off messages to those waiting on her. After a moment both go to put their phones away, but Nat pauses as she peers down at her screen. “Tony says he’ll arrange for us to use his jet tomorrow if flights don’t reopen. And get us a car to take us further south to an airport that’s working,” she says with an amused eye roll. 

“Well, here’s to hoping the weather clears up,” Bucky grumps as his shoulders slump and he lets his head fall back with a soft thunk. 

“Don’t like the fancy things in life?” she inquires with a quirked brow. 

“More like I don’t like feeling like I owe Stark,” Bucky grosses as he lifts his head up to look over at Nat. “I _know_ logically he does this ‘cause he wants to make sure I’m there, since Stevie and I are the only family we’ve really got, but, it’s just. Can’t help feelin’ like I gotta repay him. Even if I know he doesn’t see it like I do.”

Letting out a low, soft hum, Natasha nods once in agreement, “I know that feeling.” Bending over, she gathers up her things, prompting Bucky to do the same, and easily changes the subject, “Want to see if we can snag a room to share?” She sounds a little hesitantly as she asks.

“It’d probably be easier than trying to get two rooms, sure,” Bucky agrees as he pulls out his scarf and wraps it around his neck loosely before standing up alongside her to pull on his coat too. 

“Good.” She smiles warmly, shooting him a wink as they grab their travel bags and turn to head towards the exit, “Happy to get to spend more time with you.”

* * *

It’s with no small amount of luck, Bucky know, and it’s in pretty big thanks to Natasha, for having connections, that they manage to snag a decent room at a hotel not far from the Airport. After a brisk walk over --Bucky hangs back letting Natasha handle getting the room, as she let him know Tony put the room in her name-- they head up to the second floor to get settled for the evening. 

The only downfall, he finds once they walk into the room, is the one, and the only _one_ queen sized bed, and not the double he’d thought they’d managed to snag for the evening. 

_Oh boy, Huston we have a problem_ , he thinks as he swallowed thickly, he glances over at Natasha --who doesn’t seem to have the same problem as he does-- as she walks over to the small table and drops her traveling bag onto it, and starts slipping out of her jacket and boots. Biting back the flush wanting to crawl up his neck, Bucky forces himself to move from the door and further into the room towards the dresser, where he drops his own bag and slowly takes off his scarf and coat, before moving to drop onto the edge of the bed and begin unlacing his boots.

“You more a left side or right side bed kinda guy?” Natasha asks, while gathering her curls up to pull her hair into a messy up-do, before she turns to start rummaging through her travel bag. 

Fumbling with his laces as her words register with him, Bucky’s head snapped up to stare at her wide eyed for a long moment before he felt the flush crawl up his neck to his ears and cheeks. “Um, I, uh, I usually sleep farthest from the door, so I’ll take the right side. If that’s, uh, if that’s cool with you?”

“That’s fine with me,” she says as she moves to open her bag, and Bucky’s never been more sure in his life, that she’s purposely ignoring his awkwardness. “I prefer the side closest to the door. Do you mind if I clean up first?”

“Uh, no, you go ahead.” Bucky nods to the door. “Want me to order up some food? While you freshen up?” he asks, feeling more than a little awkward at how not awkward they’re acting with each other, like the past twelve years hadn’t even happened, like they’d stayed in touch.

“I could definitely eat. I’ve got no allergies, so anything you order will be good with me,” Natasha calls out as she grabs her stuff and ducks into the bathroom.

Letting out a soft, barely there sigh, Bucky calls up and orders them both burgers and fries. Looking around once the call to the kitchens is done, he looks around before deciding to spend ten minutes Natasha’s in the bathroom, pulling his own things out of his travel bag and setting his phone up to charge, figuring it would be the best time to do so. No telling if the snow storm would knock out power later on or not, so it was always better to be safe, than sorry. 

As they switch out, nodding to each other as they swap places, Bucky takes his time with his routine, trying to draw out the time and use it to center himself, because today was _not_ going how he’d thought, nor planned. Because if the universe had followed his plan, he’d have boarded the plane, had an uneventful flight and would be spending the night ragging on Steve and Tony, and how married they already acted with each other. Instead though, instead he was getting to spend an evening with the first girl to ever steal his heart. 

Staring at his reflection in the mirror as he pauses in swapping out his shirt for a looser one to sleep in, Bucky stared at himself. Stared at the dark circles that plagued him, the way his scruff was darkening and thickening along his jaw, the shaggy hair hanging around his face. _Damn_ , he thought to himself, _you certainly don’t look your best pal, do ya?_ Letting his shoulders slump as he turned from the mirror, he finished tugging on his sleeping shirt and finished up. 

“Hey,” Natasha called as he opened up the door, “I was just about to let you know the food was here.” They settle, Natasha on the bed, Bucky at the table, as they eat, letting a comfortable silence descended upon them, and it stayed like that until Bucky suddenly broke it. 

“Ya know,” he blurts out, face flushing a pretty, pale pink, “I had a, uh, I had such a crush on you, back in school.” _Oh shit, why am I telling her this?_ He thinks to himself, horrified but no matter how much he wants to swallow the words, take them back, he can’t help but continue babbling as he stares down at his plate of half eaten food. “Like, it was sort of ridiculous. Stevie and Sharon couldn’t help but rag on me with how bad I had it for you.”

Tossing her head back, as a small, smokey chuckle fell from her lips, Natasha tilts her head to the side, lips curling into a small, fond smile as her eyes seemed to sparkle in the low-lights of the room. “You know,” she starts, leaning forward as if sharing a secret, carefully so she didn’t tip over her own plate, “I had one on you as well.” Straightening back up, she moves to give her curls a shake as she runs a hand through them, “But any time I’d thought to try and talk to you, I seemed to have missed my chance, what with you dating so much during most of our junior and senior years,” she continues, voice and face softening as she popped a fry into her mouth, and chewed as she eyed him. 

“Yeah,” Bucky nods, flushing slightly as he plays with his fries for a moment before continuing, “That, that was more an attempt for me to try and get through my crush. On you. Didn’t work out though. So I, I kept it casual, no fair in trying to lead anyone on. So, ya know, got that serial dater reputation.” He swallows with a shrug before picking up his burger to take a bite. 

“You know,” Natasha starts after a small silence, but pauses to clear her throat as she ducks her head to pick at the food left on her plate, “I, I too tried that. Though not as often as you did. Dance wouldn’t have allowed for it.” 

They share a quick grin, chuckling softly as they let the tension bleeds from the room, as they dive in reminiscing about their childhood, memories they shared and ones they just recalled fondly as they finished their food and cleaned up.

“So what were you doing in New York anyway?” Bucky asks once they’ve cleaned up from their dinner and have settled on the bed, Bucky leaned up against the headboard and Natasha stretched out face him along the left side of the bed.

“I’m moving back here, to New York, actually. I’ve spent the last seven years flying all over, living out of a duffel bag more than anything, and I decided I wanted a place where I can call home. That I can come back too, after working.”

“Yeah?” he asks, lips quirking up into a smile at the news. “In borough in particular? Or just somewhere in the city?”

“Anywhere really,” she answers, shuffling around to sit crossed legged angled before him. “I’ve found a few places, in Queens and Brooklyn. And of course, Tony’s offered me a place at Stark Mansion, if it takes me too long to find an apartment,” she adds with a roll of her eyes. 

“Got a time frame of when you wanna make the move?” Bucky asks, hand moving up to tug his unruly looks out of the bun he’d put it up in. “Or is it really just whenever you find the place you wanna call home?”

“More the second one, than the first, but I’d rather try and make the move before summer hits,” she answers thoughtfully. “May through August are some of my busiest months with the company.”

Bucky nods, “Well, I’m sure you’ll find something, and soon.” Chewing on his lip, he eyes her for a moment before looking down at this lap and clears his throat. “Would, ah, would you like to get coffee or, um, dinner some time? Once you make the move official.” He glances up, looking from beneath his lashes as he adds, “It, uh, it could be either as friends, or it could be-”

“Yes,” Natasha cuts in, smoothly as her face softens into a genuine smile. “I’d like that. To go on a date with you,” her eyes glimmered happily as she continued. “But how about we skip the waiting part, and about we get breakfast instead?”

“That would be,” Bucky starts to squeak out, a little tongued as his lips stretch into a wide bright, happy grin. “That would be great, I’d love to get breakfast. With you. Tomorrow.”

“Than we should get to sleep,” she murmurs happily, “So we can get to our date.”

“We should, do that, yes,” he agrees, a little dumbly as he nods along before seeming to shake himself out and climbs off the bed to pull back the covers. Natasha lets out a little chuckle as she follows suit by crawling up and sliding under the comforter. Bucky can’t help but let out his own chuckle, a little more awkward to be fair, as he crawls under the blanket and turns to click off the lights. “Uh, g’night, Natasha.”

“Good night, James.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm Nixie! You can find me where I post the things I [create](https://nixies-creations.tumblr.com/), or at my main blog [here](http://nixie-deangel.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> And, котёнок is kitten in Russian.


End file.
